Why I’m Partnering with Imposter Syndrome

Rather than letting this phenomenon hold me back, I'm working with it to move forward

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

As of late, I’ve been trotting around like I know things. Like I know how to start a business. Like I know how to live a healthy life. Like I know how to be a professional speaker. Like I’m a real writer (or, a real anything for that matter). Pfft. Silly me. I’m a total fraud. Or, am I?

I’ve spent a lot of time with my own personal coach learning about what she so aptly calls my inner guardians. These are the voices within me that make me pause and think at their best, and they stop me in my tracks and make me believe I’m nothing at their worst. So, which is the voice that’s telling me I’m silly for thinking I know some things? That, my friends, would be imposter syndrome. She’s noisy. And she has little faith. But, she’s really good at igniting one of my core values: curiosity. 

The thing is this: imposter syndrome reminds me that I don’t know a lot of things, but because curiosity is one of my core values, it’s okay with me to not know things and move forward anyway. I’m a person who loves to learn and discover, so the less I know about something, the more interested I am in finding out. This means that imposter syndrome doesn’t have the power to hold me back, but rather, it’s serving as a force to push me forward. It wants to help me pursue things outside of my comfort zone, push myself to learn, and keep me in action. When imposter syndrome pipes up and yells, “You don’t belong here. You’ve never done this. You have no clue what you’re talking about!” I listen for what my response is to those statements. The answers come in what my coach has taught me is my authentic voice: “You’re right, I don’t belong here. But I’m here anyway because I want to know what it’s about. You’re right, I haven’t done this before. But I want to try. And, I don’t have a clue about what I’m talking about. Which is why I showed up, so I can get a clue.” After an internal conversation like that, imposter syndrome takes a rest. And my authentic voice is loudest in my mind and it becomes what drives me. Then, I get to live in curiosity and ease. I get to be in full alignment with my values while exploring something new. But, I wouldn’t have gotten there had I tried to force imposter syndrome to stay silent. 

I used to see imposter syndrome as my enemy and now I see it as my partner. It’s bringing up important points. But, just because a point is important doesn’t mean it has to be what I act on. The greatest experiences of my life happen when I don’t know what I’m doing and I show up anyway.  Because the truth is, when I wonder if I belong, or if I know enough, or if I should have a voice, I live my way into discovering that the answer is usually yes.

How can you try to partner with your imposter syndrome? What can you learn? How can you use what you learn to drive yourself forward?